My pregnant wife and I were lucky to escape Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban. We have swapped danger for refuge and bewilderment in Ukraine. The author and his wife bid farewell to their families at the entrance to Mazar-e-Sharif airport in Balkh province,...
Journalist Zamir Saar delivers a first-hand account of his and his wife Kamila’s experience escaping Afghanistan after the country fell to the Taliban in August. Grateful for refuge in Kyiv, Ukraine, far from the violence and downward economic spiral that face their native land, Zamir and Kamila — five months pregnant at the time they fled — now find themselves unsettled by makeshift living arrangements and uncertainty about their future. As Zamir notes, the hardest part has been leaving the familiar spaces in their home towns and finding nothing so far to replace them in their new environment. But there’s also recognition that there’s only so much a receiving country like Ukraine can do.
Exercise: Ask students to think about what makes them feel most at home and how they might recreate those things in an unfamiliar environment.
After Kabul fell to the Taliban, the hurried evacuation of Afghans and COVID-19 have complicated efforts to find the refugees new homes overseas. A child holds up a piece of artwork while drawing in a tent at U.S. Fort Bliss, in New Mexico, where Afghan refugees are...
Many of us sensed a doomed U.S. mission in Afghanistan years ago and had drawn lessons. But the final costs of the invasion are still being tallied. U.S. soldiers drape a flag over a fellow serviceman killed on 29 July 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. (AP...
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan after another failed foreign intervention. Will they ease their hard line? And what lessons can be learned? Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s presidential palace, Kabul, Afghanistan, 15 August 2021 (AP Photo/Zabi...
The reconquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban is a fast-moving story, and the mainstream media is busy keeping us informed of the latest developments. It’s one of those stories that cries out for context, and Alistair Lyon delivers the goods in his tour de force, informed by his years on the ground in the South Asian nation. If those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it, then Lyon’s article might help young readers understand why the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan was almost destined to fall short — and help them avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Exercise: Ask your students to compare U.S. involvement in Afghanistan with another foreign entanglement, and to elaborate on similarities and differences between the conflicts.
New Yorkers will never forget the attack on our city of 20 years ago. But will Americans remember the lessons of 9/11 and of the war in Afghanistan? Survivors of the attacks in New York, 11 September 2001 (AP Photo/Gulnara Samoilova) Next month will mark 20 years...
Trump’s administration launched a sea change in U.S.-China relations. Is Joe Biden raising the stakes in taking tough action against China? U.S. President Joe Biden at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, 14 June 2021 (EPA Photo/Kenzo Tribouillard). President...
The world’s fourth most populous nation, Indonesia is struggling to keep fast-spreading COVID-19 from undermining its economic growth prospects. A man falls to the ground during the burial of a relative who died of COVID-19, Jakarta, Indonesia, 7 July 7 2021....
News Decoder aims to spotlight regions of the world that often don’t make the headlines. With an estimated 270 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country after China, India and the United States. Correspondent Jonathan Thatcher, former Jakarta bureau chief for Reuters, draws our attention to the devastating impact of the pandemic on the island nation and why it matters. His article explains how COVID-19 tore through the country, stalling economic growth, and warns of the potential long-term impact on youth employment — what he calls “an especially frightening prospect.”
Exercise: Ask students how they think the pandemic will impact economic opportunity for young people in their country.
A huge port city project backed by China in Sri Lanka has the U.S. and India worried about Beijing’s sway in the South Asian island nation. Asia’s largest sand dredger belonging to China Harbour Engineering Co pumps sand during construction of the Colombo...
China is punishing an “antagonistic” Australia with trade sanctions that many view as a test of Beijing’s geo-economic muscle. A man shops for Australian wine in Shanghai, China, 8 December 2020. Two days later, China imposed new import duties on...
They are 8,000 miles from Myanmar, but Burmese in the U.S. are raising money in a fight for the restoration of democracy in the Asian nation. A recent protest against the military coup in Myanmar, in Indianapolis, Indiana (courtesy of Elaisa Vahnie) This story was a...
